Nursing researchers investigate challenges of foreign-born students

By Karen Cook

A research team in the Faculty of Nursing exploring the challenges faced by foreign-born students and their instructors has come up with several recommendations, including hiring more culturally diverse faculty, developing a formal support system for instructors and expanding English-language support for students.

The study, led by Tam Truong Donnelly and Elaine McKiel and funded with the help of Faculty of Nursing Endowment awards, looked at the different values, beliefs and traditions that multicultural university students bring to the academic setting.

“Beyond the language limitations and cultural barriers, there is a lack of educational support for EAL (English as an Additional Language) students with a consequence of higher drop-out rates,” says Donnelly, who is the study’s principal investigator. “We wanted to explore the factors that either supported or hindered the students’ learning and the successful completion of their nursing program.”

Jasmine Hwang, one of three student research assistants, was interested in the project because of her own experiences as an EAL student.

“I felt isolated when I enrolled in the nursing program,” she says. “However, I eventually realized that it was not only me. Many EAL students in the faculty shared similar challenges—difficulties in writing, expressing thoughts and knowledge and interacting with clients and colleagues in the hospital setting.”

The first part of the study examined the students’ perspective. “Their challenges range from limited language skills—not understanding common Canadian slang and colloquialism, complex medical terms and nursing jargon—to adjusting to cultural differences and lacking institutional support for them to successfully complete the nursing program,” says Hwang.

The students reported some discomfort when approaching instructors for help. They recommended that other students try to extend their support networks, to not be afraid about seeking help and even to think carefully before actually starting the program.

The research team, which includes collaborators from the Centre for Language Assessment and Learning, and the Effective Writing Centre, has submitted a proposal to the university to design courses for instructors and foreign-born students. The nursing faculty is also holding a cultural diversity forum on April 14 for nursing students and educators.